ENTREPRENEURIAL UPBEAT: Vol. 6, No. 7

This Week on Entrepreneurship Wednesdays: SPECIAL GUESTS THIRD COAST PERCUSSION

We’ve wrapped up our series on assembling your basic career toolkit, and now we move on to a young, up-and-coming group that’s put those principles into action and is out there making a full-time living as musicians – and just a few years out of grad school, too. Don’t miss this great opportunity to hear how they’re doing it!

Wednesdays, 5:00-6:00 (abbreviated session this week so they can prepare for their concert at 7:30!)

C-113 (Conference Room)

Free Pizza!

Convo Credit available this week

CU GIGS is your source for extra $$ and performing opportunities

CU GIGS is the College of Music’s gig booking service, and an entrepreneurial venture of the ECM. If you’re interested in being part of a database for all manner of gig requests we get here at the College of Music, just fill out the informational form (on the door of the ECM Office) and turn it in to the ECM. Our CU GIGS Coordinator Nathan Hall will then work to connect you with gigs that come into our Musician Referral Line. For more info, contact Nathan at: musicreferral@Colorado.EDU

RENAME “Entrepreneurship Wednesdays” CONTEST!

Thanks to all who submitted entries – lots of great suggestions! We’ll be adjudicating the entries and announcing our winner in next week’s issue. Stay tuned!

ENTREPRENEURIAL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: John Cage and the entrepreneurial mindset (!?)

This week I’m going to suspend our discussion of “Value vs. Commoditization” in order to reflect a bit on the object of our celebration this week, composer John Cage. What the heck does John Cage have to do with entrepreneurism? Read on…

As one of the most controversial and boundary-breaking figures of the 2nd half of the 20th century, John Cage is a composer with whom every serious musician needs to come to terms. His impact was so far-reaching – and not just in music, but within American culture generally – that you need to be familiar with what he stood for and understand how the ripples (sometimes waves!) he created continue to spread outward to this day. The question I’d like to pose today is this: how did he do it? How did he end up creating such an impact?

So often we dismiss the success of important figures by simply concluding that it was the sheer force of their genius that created it. But this is rarely the case; there are other qualities that go with greatness. In the case of Cage, consider these two:

He was unfailingly true to himself and his vision: From the earliest point of his career, John Cage had a sense of who he was and who he wanted to be. He believed in himself and in his vision for the different ways we could experience sound. He didn’t let naysayers or critics dissuade him, either. And…

He was fearless in his fulfilling of that vision: As an experimenter and visionary, Cage fearlessly followed his ideas wherever they led – including a piece about nothing except four and a half minutes of silence!

What do these qualities have to do with an entrepreneurial mindset? Well, they’re absolutely core to it! The entrepreneurial mindset means remaining true to yourself, no matter what. That doesn’t mean sticking blindly to something that doesn’t work – quite the contrary! But it does mean that any course corrections are first evaluated in terms of whether or not they are consistent with your core values, beliefs, and vision. Divergence from these things almost always ends badly in one way or another.

And the second quality – fearlessly following wherever your ideas lead – is absolutely essential to entrepreneurial thinking. Many (if not most) of the great innovations of history didn’t come about fully-formed in a blinding flash of inspiration. Instead, they originated in an idea that the entrepreneur followed to its logical conclusion. It’s in that “following” that entrepreneurial thinkers are different from most everyone else: most folks are limited by the confines of the status quo, whereas entrepreneurial thinking takes us past the status quo to something new and previously unthought-of. And Cage was certainly an example of that. Consider too that Cage’s most famous piece to this day is that four-and-a-half minutes of silence: in following his beliefs through to their most extreme conclusion, Cage unlocked the thing that would cast the mold of his success for the rest of his career.

The Opportunity UPBEAT! is your weekly listing of job postings and other professional opportunities that come the way of the ECM. Check this space out for jobs, volunteer opportunities, internships, grants, festival auditions, and more!

THE COLORADO STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION is currently seeking a Fund development intern to help develop a tuition assistance scholarship fund for pre-college music study. The goal of the fund, once established, is to partially pay music tuition costs for promising young students who cannot afford music lessons. For a full description of this opportunity, stop by the ECM bulletin board and get in touch with Professor Cremaschi.

A BALLET SCHOOL IN LAFAYETTE is looking for a regular accompanist Monday evenings between 4:30 and 8:30pm for 3-4 hours. There are books of about 40 pages per class, and one class meets per hour. It’s the same music every class, and it’s well-done arrangements of traditional ballet and classical pieces. The pay is on the low end – $20 per hour, so $60-80 per Monday evening – but the program is well run and a great team to be a part of. A good sight reader is a must to learn this music quickly, but on average, it’s the difficulty of an easy Chopin Mazurka. If anyone is interested, please contact me at so I can show you the music. Nathan Smith (205) 335-8626

ERIE MIDDLE SCHOOL in Erie (about 30 minutes east of Boulder, in the St. Vrain Valley School District) is looking to hire a part-time music teacher. It is a half-time position which includes a small orchestra program as well as some possible additional music electives like piano class. The program is definitely in its infancy and needs someone who is willing to work hard to produce a successful middle school program. Those who are interested in applying should visit this website:

THE LONGMONT YOUTH SYMPHONY is currently looking for a conductor for their Wind Ensemble. The group has about 20 students, and rehearses weekly in Longmont on Saturdays. See the website below for details and contact information.

CENTER FOR THE CONTINUATION OF ARTS AND CULTURE, in Thornton, is looking for Guitar and Piano Teachers. The CCAC is an arts school dedicated to the enrichment of students in the visual and performing arts. We provide classes in a wide variety of dance styles, music, and visual arts.

You should have a degree or be in pursuit of a degree in Music Performance or Music Education.

Past teaching experience preferred. Outgoing and friendly personality along with consistent professional demeanor. Works well with elementary ages through adults. Someone who is knowledgeable and skilled in more than one instrument area is preferred. Especially knowledgeable and confidant in teaching basic/beginning piano skills in a group and private setting. Knowledge in music theory and aural skills.

Please contact Director of Music Nick Garcia-(720)-341-4975 for further information

INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE! The ECM offers a broad range of internship opportunities for students, ranging from positions with non-profit arts groups to for-profit businesses. Internships can be for academic credit or not, and can often be customized to suit your schedule and interests. If you’re interested, stop by the ECM office and we’ll talk about the options!